DUCHY OF EN

 

 

 

 

 

Location               T26

 

 

Ruler                    His Eminence and Honor, Sanderval Furdag, Duke of En.

 

Military               Army is rated poor:                  3   (Size    1,           Quality   3)

                              Navy is rated poor:                   3   (Size    1,  (0),   Quality   3)

 

Major Cities        En                              (pop.       27,000)   (capital)

 

Population           60,000 (85% human, 10% elvish, 5% other).

 

Resources             Fishing, agriculture, minerals.

 

Major Religions  Nordic, Finnish, Slavic, Celtic.  Tolerant of other religions.

 

History &                     The Duchy of En is the newest acquisition of the Kingdom of Deerhart.

Description          En's Town, as the Duchy used to be known, had existed at its current location on the Northern Sea (also known as the Cold Sea) since before the Second Drow War.  The area was a city-state, and was one of the richest of the fishing and trading towns on the southern side of the Sea, due to the fact that it was a natural geologic port.  The government consisted of a Mayor who was elected by the people, and a Council of twelve members, most of whom were powerful merchants, respected fisherman, or religious leaders.  In the year 358, Deerhart, in one of Boraslov's fits of expansionism, decided that the Kingdom desper­ately needed a port on the Nothern Sea.  Boraslov offered the Council of En an almost irresistible deal - Deerhart would pay every citizen of En's town one year's wages, and would make the mayor the Duke of En, and the council members would all become barons of Deerhart.  However, Boraslov's condi­tions were that the Town would become part of Deerhart peacefully, and that Deerhart would have complete and final word about which countries would be granted the use of En's port.    

        Ten of the twelve Council members, and the Mayor, were avidly opposed to accepting the offer.  They did, however, realise that there was absolutely no chance that En could beat Deerhart in a war, and that none of En's allies would be willing to confront mighty Deerhart and risk attacks upon themselves.  The Mayor, Kelvin Oortson, came up with a plan whereby the city would capitulate to Deerhart, but Kelvin and the ten councilors who sided with him would es­cape with as many of their trusted friends and as much of the city treasury as they could take.  Of the two councilors who were not part of the plan, Sander­val Furdag was the most powerful and dangerous, and Kelvin and the other councilors had to meet secretly and operate quietly in order not to arouse Furdag's suspicions.

        Finally, on the night before the Deerhart troops were to occupy En in earnest, Kelvin and the others made their daring escape.  Kelvin had managed to convince the naval and marine commanders that his plan was the best way to deal with Deerhart, and it was the troop of elite marines who stormed their way to the city treasury and took as much gold and magic as they could.  The coun­cilors and their families and friends took all the art objects and other valuables that they could find, and then fled to the harbor where the naval commander had all of the ships of the En navy ready to sail.  There was some resistance put up by the regular city militia, and by other townspeople who stood to gain a great deal in the Deerhart takeover, but in all over twenty percent of the city popula­tion managed to escape by land or sea.  There were two Deerhart Naval ships in the En harbor, but one ship was lightning bolted up through it's hull, and the other sustained heavy archery and magical fire from the shore.  In all, nine ships left the port of En and began the voyage towards the Free City of Eagle's Nest.  As the ships left the harbor, an earthquake struck the port, damaging it severely and wrecking most of the other vessels still anchored there.  No one knows who it was who cast the earthquake, or the lightning bolt who destroyed the first Deerhart ship.   

        The ships were very crowded, but only one sustained irrepairable damage;  her crew and cargo were transferred to the other ships, and it was these eight ships that made it to Eagle's Nest.

        The ships were met by the Eagle's Nest navy with a great deal of suspi­cion.  Kelvin, however, managed to convince the Eagle's Nest Council that they would gain a great deal by accepting the escapees into their city.  Kelvin ar­ranged a deal whereby his people would be granted citizenship in Eagle's Nest, and Eagle's nest would gain the use of the eight warships that they came in, and the naval and marine contingents.  In addition, all the treasure brought from En would be divided evenly among the people of En, to give them means to live without inundating the Eagle's Nest economy.  Kelvin became leader of the En's Town Council-in-Exile.  It is the dearest wish of this Council that some day they will gain the strength necessary to drive the Deerhart forces from En and restore it as a democracy.